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Facebook is under fire for paying just £238,000 in corporation tax in the UK in 2011, despite a multi-million income.

The world’s biggest social network paid a UK tax bill of £238,000 for 2011, according to revenue documents filed this week.

Facebook declared a UK turnover of £20.4 million in 2011, but managed to avoid paying tax on most of it by routing its UK sales through its Irish office.

Must be funny

Enders Analysis, an independent research firm that’s been looking into the Facebook tax matter for undisclosed reasons, reckons the network made around £175 million in the UK last year.

If those figures are accurate, it means that Facebook paid 0.136 per cent tax on its UK earnings in 2011. But the Irish loophole is perfectly legal and Facebook isn’t the only company making good use of it.

Google is another major internet company raking in the cash while paying as little tax as possible; the company paid £6 million in UK tax on its British income last year , estimated to be around £395 million.